Like me, you probably did your share of holiday indulging ( no, we weren’t counting those pigs in a blanket per se), but now it’s time to try to undo the damage, i.e., unwanted pounds, by walking that straight and narrow path of good intentions known as New Year’s Resolutions.  I resolve to eat my meals on smaller plates, and to make those meals healthier.  Ha!  Here goes….

Creamy Avocado Dressing

Hopefully that will be a little easier with this incredible salad dressing.  It’s creamy and seems quite indulgent, but its thick texture and rich taste come from healthy avocados.  Toss it with lettuce, cucumbers, and halved cherry tomatoes for a simple salad, and you’ll feel like you’re being bad, when you’re really being so good!

Makes a simple salad feel indulgent.

CREAMY AVOCADO DRESSING

Very few ingredients.

Yield:   Makes  1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe avocados, halved and pitted  (I used 1 large Florida avocado)
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Scoop the avocado flesh into the bowl of a food processor.*  Add the garlic and lemon juice and process until coarse.

2.  Add the vinegar and process until the mixture begins to look smooth.  Gradually add the olive oil and mix until totally smooth.  The texture can be thinned by adding a little water of desired.

3.  Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper, and transfer it to a storage container.  The dressing will keep for up to three days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

*  No food processor?  Don’t feel like getting your big processor “dirty” with this small recipe?  Do this instead.  Make this dressing much like you would make guacamole, by using your trusty potato masher.  Be sure to mince the garlic well first, and add both the vinegar and oil gradually until the texture is smooth.

Another use for this mixture is to toss it with cooked quinoa or bulgur for an easy grain salad.

SOURCE:    Pure WOW